My Takeway: There sure are quite a few delusional or outright crazy people on this board. So, you seriously think that JB should have used that press conference to say " WHOA is SU". We are horrible. All of our players suck. Our coaches can't recruit. And i have been sleeping through the last few seasons (except for the final four, then I meant it!)
Despite the fact that none of those are true, who in there right mind would ever say that?!? It is beyond the realm of insanity. It would be a clear cut kill shot to the program. Any program. Yet we have innumerable people on this board who think JB should have done that very thing. All because they think (and I use that term very loosely) that is the truth.
It isn't the truth, and to be honest, at this point you all come across as having an agenda. None of you will be happy until JB is gone. So, you might as well put your fandom on hiatus for a couple years. It would probably be best for your own personal health. It certainly would make reading this board much less of a chore, as the constant whining has made the board almost unbearable to read anymore, and this is coming from someone who has been reading iterations of this board for 15 years or more. It really has devolved to barely more than syracuse.com level.
The truth is, they should never have vocalized the succession plan. Ever. JB says he was against doing that very thing. I have no idea if that is true or not, but I do know it was a stupid idea. Whoever came up with it. You want to do that, fine. Do it, just don't announce it ahead of time. I doubt JB will actually be around in 5 years, but I can almost guarantee whenever the end arrives, a succession plan will not be made ahead of time.
It is clear that some kids don't want to play for JB since he plays only zone. That's fine. That has been the case for years. It hurts with some guys, and helps with others. Overall though, SU has done fine without them.
But it was also clear that some kids did not want to play for Hop. I doubt we will ever hear the whole story on most of this. JB is never going to throw Hop under the bus, but it is clear that is the case with some (probably more than you expect)
I think Hop has had a sense for a while that he wasn't going to get much leeway at SU, and I think it has showed in recruiting. It will be interesting to see what happens over the course of the next 2 years on the recruiting front. Time is likely to reveal what the reality is one way or another. I'm hope